Zhang Nan (badminton)

For other people named Zhang Nan, see Zhang Nan (disambiguation).

In this Chinese name, the family name is Zhang.

Zhang Nan (simplified Chinese: 张楠; traditional Chinese: 張楠; pinyin: Zhāng Nán; born 1 March 1990) is a Chinese former professional badminton player who specializes in both men's and mixed doubles. He found much success in mixed doubles with his former partner Zhao Yunlei. They won gold in 2012 Summer Olympics, 3 golds in BWF World Championships in 2011, 2014 and 2015 and a gold at the 2014 Asian Games. Having won all major events as a pair, they are considered one of the most successful mixed doubles pairs of all time. Zhang Nan himself is considered to be one of the all-time greats of badminton.^[2]

Zhang Nan 张楠
Personal information
Country	China
Born	(1990-03-01) 1 March 1990 (age 35) Beijing, China
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Weight	74 kg (163 lb)[1]
Spouse	Tian Qing ​ (m. 2018)​
Handedness	Right
Coach	Zhang Jun
Men's & mixed doubles
Highest ranking	2 (MD with Fu Haifeng 29 September 2016) 2 (MD with Liu Cheng 21 June 2018) 1 (XD with Zhao Yunlei 27 January 2011) 3 (XD with Li Yinhui 24 August 2017)
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  China Olympic Games 2012 London Mixed doubles 2016 Rio de Janeiro Men's doubles 2016 Rio de Janeiro Mixed doubles World Championships 2011 London Mixed doubles 2014 Copenhagen Mixed doubles 2015 Jakarta Mixed doubles 2017 Glasgow Men's doubles 2013 Guangzhou Mixed doubles 2018 Nanjing Men's doubles 2018 Nanjing Mixed doubles Sudirman Cup 2011 Qingdao Mixed team 2013 Kuala Lumpur Mixed team 2015 Donggguan Mixed team 2017 Gold Coast Mixed team Thomas Cup 2010 Kuala Lumpur Men's team 2018 Bangkok Men's team 2014 New Delhi Men's team Asian Games 2010 Guangzhou Men's team 2014 Incheon Mixed doubles 2018 Jakarta–Palembang Men's team 2010 Guangzhou Mixed doubles 2014 Incheon Men's team Asian Championships 2011 Chengdu Mixed doubles 2012 Qingdao Mixed doubles 2016 Wuhan Mixed doubles 2013 Taipei Mixed doubles 2011 Chengdu Men's doubles 2016 Wuhan Men's doubles 2018 Wuhan Men's doubles 2018 Wuhan Mixed doubles Asia Mixed Team Championships 2017 Ho Chi Minh Mixed team East Asian Games 2009 Hong Kong Men's team 2009 Hong Kong Mixed doubles 2009 Hong Kong Men's doubles World Junior Championships 2007 Waitakere City Mixed team 2008 Pune Mixed team 2008 Pune Mixed doubles Asian Junior Championships 2008 Kuala Lumpur Mixed doubles 2008 Kuala Lumpur Mixed team 2007 Kuala Lumpur Mixed team 2007 Kuala Lumpur Boys' doubles 2008 Kuala Lumpur Boys' doubles
BWF profile

Having found huge success in mixed doubles with Zhao, Zhang partnered Fu Haifeng with whom he won gold in 2016 Summer Olympics. After this, Fu retired and Zhang partnered Liu Cheng and became World Champion in the men's doubles at the 2017 BWF World Championships.

Career

Zhang Nan (right) and Zhao Yunlei (left) at the 2016 Indonesia Super Series Premier

Zhang Nan playing with Li Gen at the 2013 Dutch Open

Zhang Nan is a badminton player who has achieved success in both men's and mixed doubles. In the men's doubles he has been paired with Chai Biao, Fu Haifeng, Lu Kai, Liu Cheng and Ou Xuanyi; while in the mixed doubles he has been paired with Lu Lu, Tang Jinhua, Zhao Yunlei and Li Yinhui.

2010

He participated in the 2010 Thomas Cup in Kuala Lumpur, playing for China. He also played in 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.

Zhang has achieved one of the three most prestigious badminton titles, winning the All England Open that year with Zhao Yunlei, winning over Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia, 21–18, 23–25, 21–18, the first pair to win the title as qualifiers.

Zhang has a larger achievement with Zhao in the mixed doubles event rather than with Chai. Zhang and Zhao won the Japan Open title, beating compatriots Tao Jiaming and Tian Qing in the final, 21–19, 22–20. Meanwhile, Zhang and Chai's journey in Tokyo was ended by seniors Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng in the semi-finals, losing 17–21 and 16–21.

In China Open, Zhang attended the men's and mixed doubles finals but he lost in both events. In the men's doubles, South Korea's Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae emerged as the winners as they downed Zhang and Chai in straight sets, 21–15 and 21–12. In the mixed doubles final, Tao Jiaming and Tian Qing took revenge with a 21–18, 21–17 triumph over Zhang and Zhao.

Zhang only played in mixed doubles in the last Super Series tournament of 2010, Hong Kong Open. Seeded fifth, he and Zhao reached the final but lost in a long three-set match against Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen of Denmark 20–22, 21–14, and 20–22.

2011

Zhang and Zhao were qualified to play in the 2010 Super Series Finals Taiwan. They became the winner by beating Thailand's Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thungthongkam 21–17, 21–12 in the final. Zhang and Chai also played in the Super Series Finals, yet both were conquered by Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae in the last four 15–21 and 11–21 in just 30 minutes.

Once again, Zhang and Zhao met Tao Jiaming and Tian Qing, now in Korea Open final. Zhang and Zhao vanquished their teammates 21–17, 13–21, and 21–19 to become the first winners of a Super Series Premier.

2012

In July–August at the London Olympics, he won the gold medal at the mixed doubles event with Zhao Yunlei, beating compatriots Xu Chen and Ma Jin in the gold medal match, 21–11, 21–17.^[3]

2016

At the 2016 Olympics, Zhang and Zhao, the defending champions in the mixed doubles event, lost in the semi-final, but successfully clinched a bronze medal after winning a rematch of the last edition's final, beating Xu Chen and Ma Jin in straight games again. On the other hand, Zhang won the gold medal with Fu Haifeng in the men's doubles event, beating Malaysians Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong in a tightly-fought match, 16–21, 21–11, 23–21. They saved two gold medal points during the third game, and eventually converted one on their first opportunity.^[4]

2017

Zhang won the World Championships in the men's doubles event with Liu Cheng, defeating Indonesians Mohammad Ahsan and Rian Agung Saputro in the final, 21–10, 21–17 to win the gold medal.^[5]

2022: Resignation from the Chinese national badminton team

Zhang announced his resignation from the Chinese national team in late August on his Weibo account,^[6] stating that he would continue to play badminton as an independent player with the permission of the Chinese Badminton Association.^[7]

2023

Zhang made his return to the international badminton circuit as an independent player by participating in the men's and mixed doubles events in the 2023 Ruichang China Masters.^[8]

Achievements

Olympic Games

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2016	Riocentro - Pavilion 4, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Fu Haifeng	Goh V Shem Tan Wee Kiong	16–21, 21–11, 23–21	Gold

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2012	Wembley Arena, London, Great Britain	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	21–11, 21–17	Gold
2016	Riocentro - Pavilion 4, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	21–7, 21–11	Bronze

BWF World Championships

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2017	Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland	Liu Cheng	Mohammad Ahsan Rian Agung Saputro	21–10, 21–17	Gold
2018	Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park, Nanjing, China	Liu Cheng	Li Junhui Liu Yuchen	15–21, 13–21	Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Wembley Arena, London, England	Zhao Yunlei	Chris Adcock Imogen Bankier	21–15, 21–7	Gold
2013	Tianhe Sports Center, Guangzhou, China	Zhao Yunlei	Tontowi Ahmad Lilyana Natsir	21–15, 18–21, 13-21	Bronze
2014	Ballerup Super Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	21–12, 21–23, 21–13	Gold
2015	Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Indonesia	Zhao Yunlei	Liu Cheng Bao Yixin	21–17, 21–11	Gold
2018	Nanjing Youth Olympic Sports Park, Nanjing, China	Li Yinhui	Zheng Siwei Huang Yaqiong	21–19, 12–21, 10–21	Bronze

Asian Games

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	Tianhe Gymnasium, Guangzhou, China	Zhao Yunlei	Shin Baek-cheol Lee Hyo-jung	19–21, 14–21	Silver
2014	Gyeyang Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea	Zhao Yunlei	Tontowi Ahmad Liliyana Natsir	21–16, 21–14	Gold

Asian Championships

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Sichuan Gymnasium, Chengdu, China	Xu Chen	Cai Yun Fu Haifeng	19–21, 15–21	Bronze
2016	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	Fu Haifeng	Li Junhui Liu Yuchen	21–23, 19–21	Bronze
2018	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	Liu Cheng	Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda	21–14, 12–21, 23–25	Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2011	Sichuan Gymnasium, Chengdu, China	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	15–21, 21–15, 25–23	Gold
2012	Qingdao Sports Centre Conson Stadium, Qingdao, China	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	21–13, 21–12	Gold
2013	Taipei Arena, Taipei, Taiwan	Zhao Yunlei	Ko Sung-hyun Kim Ha-na	20–22, 17–21	Silver
2016	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	Zhao Yunlei	Tontowi Ahmad Liliyana Natsir	16–21, 21–9, 21–17	Gold
2018	Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China	Li Yinhui	Wang Yilyu Huang Dongping	21–18, 18–21, 17–21	Bronze

East Asian Games

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2009	Queen Elizabeth Stadium, Hong Kong	Chai Biao	Chen Hung-ling Lin Yu-lang	18–21, 16–21	Bronze

BWF World Junior Championships

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2008	Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Badminton Hall, Pune, India	Lu Lu	Chai Biao Xie Jing	19–21, 15–21	Silver

Asian Junior Championships

Boys' doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2007	Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Qiu Zihan	Mohd Lutfi Zaim Abdul Khalid Tan Wee Kiong	10–21, 13–21	Bronze
2008	Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Chai Biao	Mak Hee Chun Teo Kok Siang	17–21, 18–21	Bronze

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2008	Stadium Juara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Lu Lu	Kim Ki-jung Eom Hye-won	14–21, 21–15, 24–22	Gold

BWF World Tour (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,^[9] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300, and the BWF Tour Super 100.^[10]

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Level	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2019	Akita Masters	Super 100	Ou Xuanyi	Akira Koga Taichi Saito	21–14, 21–19	Winner
2019	Indonesia Masters	Super 100	Ou Xuanyi	Akira Koga Taichi Saito	11–21, 21–10, 22–20	Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Level	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2018	China Open	Super 1000	Li Yinhui	Zheng Siwei Huang Yaqiong	16–21, 9–21	Runner-up

BWF Superseries (31 titles, 15 runners-up)

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,^[11] was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011.^[12] Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	China Open	Chai Biao	Jung Jae-sung Lee Yong-dae	15–21, 12–21	Runner-up
2012	China Masters	Chai Biao	Hiroyuki Endo Kenichi Hayakawa	21–18, 21–17	Winner
2014	Denmark Open	Fu Haifeng	Lee Yong-dae Yoo Yeon-seong	21–13, 25–23	Winner
2015	All England Open	Fu Haifeng	Mathias Boe Carsten Mogensen	17–21, 20–22	Runner-up
2015	Singapore Open	Fu Haifeng	Angga Pratama Ricky Karanda Suwardi	15–21, 21–11, 14–21	Runner-up
2015	Indonesia Open	Fu Haifeng	Ko Sung-hyun Shin Baek-cheol	16–21, 21–16, 19–21	Runner-up
2015	Japan Open	Fu Haifeng	Lee Yong-dae Yoo Yeon-seong	19–21, 27–29	Runner-up
2016	Singapore Open	Fu Haifeng	Takeshi Kamura Keigo Sonoda	21–11, 22–20	Winner
2017	Denmark Open	Liu Cheng	Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo	21–16, 22–24, 21–19	Winner
2017	Dubai World Superseries Finals	Liu Cheng	Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo	16–21, 15–21	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	All England Open	Zhao Yunlei	Nova Widianto Liliyana Natsir	21–18, 23–25, 21–18	Winner
2010	Japan Open	Zhao Yunlei	Tao Jiaming Tian Qing	21–19, 22–20	Winner
2010	China Open	Zhao Yunlei	Tao Jiaming Tian Qing	18–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2010	Hong Kong Open	Zhao Yunlei	Joachim Fischer Nielsen Christinna Pedersen	20–22, 21–14, 20–22	Runner-up
2010	World Superseries Finals	Zhao Yunlei	Sudket Prapakamol Saralee Thungthongkam	21–17, 21–12	Winner
2011	Korea Open	Zhao Yunlei	Tao Jiaming Tian Qing	21–17, 13–21, 21–19	Winner
2011	Indonesia Open	Zhao Yunlei	Tontowi Ahmad Liliyana Natsir	20–22, 21–14, 21–9	Winner
2011	Hong Kong Open	Zhao Yunlei	Joachim Fischer Nielsen Christinna Pedersen	15–21, 21–17, 21–17	Winner
2011	China Open	Zhao Yunlei	Joachim Fischer Nielsen Christinna Pedersen	21–11, 21–14	Winner
2011	World Superseries Finals	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	21–13, 21–15	Winner
2012	Malaysia Open	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	21–12, 21–9	Winner
2012	Hong Kong Open	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	21–17, 21–17	Winner
2012	World Superseries Finals	Zhao Yunlei	Joachim Fischer Nielsen Christinna Pedersen	21–17, 12–21, 14–21	Runner-up
2013	Korea Open	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	13–21, 21–16, 21–13	Winner
2013	All England Open	Zhao Yunlei	Tontowi Ahmad Liliyana Natsir	13–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2013	Indonesia Open	Zhao Yunlei	Joachim Fischer Nielsen Christinna Pedersen	24–22, 20–22, 21–12	Winner
2013	China Masters	Zhao Yunlei	Yoo Yeon-seong Eom Hye-won	21–18, 21–12	Winner
2013	Japan Open	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	Walkover	Winner
2013	Denmark Open	Zhao Yunlei	Tontowi Ahmad Liliyana Natsir	21–11, 22–20	Winner
2013	French Open	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	28–26, 21–18	Winner
2013	World Superseries Finals	Zhao Yunlei	Joachim Fischer Nielsen Christinna Pedersen	21–12, 19–21, 10–21	Runner-up
2014	Korea Open	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	21–18, 21–18	Winner
2014	All England Open	Zhao Yunlei	Tontowi Ahmad Liliyana Natsir	13–21, 17–21	Runner-up
2014	Japan Open	Zhao Yunlei	Michael Fuchs Birgit Michels	21–12, 21–16	Winner
2014	China Open	Zhao Yunlei	Yoo Yeon-seong Eom Hye-won	23–25, 21–14, 21–18	Winner
2014	Hong Kong Open	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	21–14, 21–19	Winner
2014	Dubai World Superseries Finals	Zhao Yunlei	Liu Cheng Bao Yixin	21–15, 21–12	Winner
2015	All England Open	Zhao Yunlei	Tontowi Ahmad Liliyana Natsir	21–10, 21–10	Winner
2015	Malaysia Open	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	21–16, 21–14	Winner
2015	Singapore Open	Zhao Yunlei	Lu Kai Huang Yaqiong	Walkover	Winner
2015	Indonesia Open	Zhao Yunlei	Xu Chen Ma Jin	17–21, 16–21	Runner-up
2015	Japan Open	Zhao Yunlei	Joachim Fischer Nielsen Christinna Pedersen	21–17, 18–21, 21–23	Runner-up
2015	Korea Open	Zhao Yunlei	Tontowi Ahmad Liliyana Natsir	21–16, 21–15	Winner
2015	China Open	Zhao Yunlei	Joachim Fischer Nielsen Christinna Pedersen	21–19, 17–21, 21–19	Winner
2015	Hong Kong Open	Zhao Yunlei	Liu Cheng Bao Yixin	21–17, 17–21, 21–17	Winner
2016	China Open	Li Yinhui	Tontowi Ahmad Liliyana Natsir	13–21, 22–20, 16–21	Runner-up

  Superseries Finals Tournament

  Superseries Premier Tournament

  Superseries Tournament

BWF Grand Prix (7 titles, 4 runners-up)

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017.

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	German Open	Chai Biao	Chen Hung-ling Lin Yu-lang	17–21, 21–13, 21–15	Winner
2014	Swiss Open	Fu Haifeng	Chai Biao Hong Wei	20–22, 14–21	Runner-up
2015	Chinese Taipei Open	Fu Haifeng	Marcus Fernaldi Gideon Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo	21–13, 21–8	Winner
2016	Macau Open	Lu Kai	Lee Jhe-huei Lee Yang	21–17, 18–21, 19–21	Runner-up
2017	Swiss Open	Liu Cheng	Chai Biao Hong Wei	21–13, 16–21, 15–21	Runner-up

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2009	Philippines Open	Lu Lu	Chen Zhiben Zhang Jinkang	22–20, 21–19	Winner
2010	Bitburger Open	Zhao Yunlei	Michael Fuchs Birgit Overzier	22–20, 21–9	Winner
2013	Swiss Open	Tang Jinhua	Joachim Fischer Nielsen Christinna Pedersen	20–22, 19–21	Runner-up
2016	Macau Open	Li Yinhui	Tang Chun Man Tse Ying Suet	21–19, 21–15	Winner
2017	Thailand Masters	Li Yinhui	Dechapol Puavaranukroh Sapsiree Taerattanachai	21–11, 20–22, 21–13	Winner
2017	German Open	Li Yinhui	Lu Kai Huang Yaqiong	22–20, 21–11	Winner

  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament

  BWF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series (1 title)

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
2019	Belarus International	Ou Xuanyi	Matthew Clare Max Flynn	21–15, 21–15	Winner

  BWF International Challenge tournament

  BWF International Series tournament

  BWF Future Series tournament

Personal life

He started a relationship with his mixed doubles partner Zhao Yunlei in 2010. However, before 2016 Summer Olympics, Zhao Yunlei announced that she and Zhang Nan were no longer together. He later married another Chinese badminton player Tian Qing in November 2018.^[13]